Ga. Power’s plan for coal ash would contaminate water
Would you like some toxic coal ash in your water? Georgia Power can provide it with the approval of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. They have a plan.
You might get some from the 1.1 million cubic yards of coal ash that’s been aging in Ash Pond 3 at Plant Hammond on the banks of the Coosa River, 12 miles from Rome. The plan is for the pond to have a cover installed “to control, minimize, or eliminate, to the maximum extent feasible, post-closure infiltration of liquids into the waste.”
The word “feasible” in their plan provides the wiggle room to account for economic, environmental, social and technological factors. Coal ash can be used to make concrete, but the lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic in the ash is not suitable for human consumption. Coal contaminates our air and water. Just ask the fish.
TONY GARDNER, CUMMING
Only the GOP clings to its extremist fringes
A recent letter writer suggested that individual liberty, free speech and democracy are shared values of progressives and conservatives, and “both sides would be better off leaving their fringes behind.” But when we relate these ideologies to party affiliation, we see that, for the most part, only one side clings to the fringes.
Surveys show the majority of voters generally agree with Democratic Party positions. They want affordable health care, job-creating investments in infrastructure, stronger gun safety laws, action to address climate change, protection of voter rights, abortion rights consistent with Roe vs. Wade, LGBTQ rights and support for Ukraine. They oppose book banning, government shutdowns, deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and MAGA Republican attacks on democracy.
The Republican Party, on the other hand, is gripped by an extremist MAGA cult clamoring for an authoritarian regime with a Christian nationalist agenda and the insurrectionist mobster Donald Trump as president. The voters’ choice in 2024 will be between democracy and dictatorship.
CHRIS MOSER, STONECREST
